Lechon Manok

You could literally see a lot of food stands that sells this dish practically everywhere. However, nothing beats the taste of one home cooked meal. Though the preparations takes too long. But the satisfaction and the joy brought about by the taste. It just feels like heaven on earth.


Ingredients:

• 1 whole dressed chicken
• 1 tsp iodized salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 whole garlic
• 1 whole onion
• 1 bunch of lemon grass
• 3-4 pieces pandan leaves
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 liter water
• 1 can 7 Up/Sprite
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cayenne

Cooking Procedure:

Brining chicken

1. In a large bowl, place water, 7 Up/Sprite, lemon juice, 2-4 gloves garlic (crushed with a knife), sugar, salt and peppercorn.Then bring to a boil approximately 1 minute. Allow to cool completely then place the chicken into the brining solution. Make sure that the chicken is fully submerged in the brine.
2. Place the chicken in the refrigerator and let it soak overnight (8-12 hours).
3. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat the chicken off the excess water. Dispose of the brining solution by pouring it down the drain.

Roasting chicken

1. Rub the skin with fish sauce on the surface and inside the cavity.
2. Then rub the skin with butter, remaining garlic and paprika, cayenne, black pepper.
3. Inside the chicken, put the bay leaves, lemongrass, pandan leaves, garlic, onion, salt and pepper.
4. Cross the legs and tie them tightly with a twine then tuck the wings under the breast.
5. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil. Make sure that the aluminum foil side with the chicken is rubbed first with oil before using it.
6. Roast for about 40 minutes at 210 C. Then gently remove the foil. basting the chicken with melted butter. Then roast again for 20 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear when the thickest part of the chicken legs or thigh are pierced.
7. Serve hot with preferred sauce.

Tips:

• Brining meats before cooking them is an effective way to increase the moisture and tenderness of the meat before roasting. This is especially important for chicken, which often gets dry in the oven. The process of soaking the meat in salted water causes the chicken to absorb some of the water through osmosis, making it moister when cooked.

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Just so you know:

The Philippines had been under Spanish occupation for over 300 years. It is not surprising that a lot of Filipino dishes are derived from Spanish cuisine. Among this is lechon. This simply means ‘suckling pig’ in Spanish. The whole process of lechon involves slowly roasting a whole pig in charcoal until the skin is brown and crispy. Since roasting a whole pig can be tedious, expensive and simply not practical for everyday consumption, chicken (manok) has been a more viable yet just as delicious option.

Flavored with aromatic herbs and spices such as lemongrass and tamarind. This dish can be bought by the roadside all over the country.